Got My Potter On (no Spoilers)

I'm pretty sure that taking a nap before heading out to the local Borders for the final Harry Potter release qualifies me as an old fart. I didn't make it there until 10:55pm, pulling in behind 4 other cars and parking at the nearby hotel. I wound up in the 5th wrist band group - pink - but number 8 in the group, which translated to 3 chapters read of Lean Mean 13 and a check out time of 1:22am. Not bad! I think I had roughly the same midnight-to-buy time as my twin sister (from another mother) who lives in DC.
Here is the take:


I'm not sure when I'll next see 800 people in a bookstore. It was almost as crowded as an RWA literacy signing. Mom's also expecting a rush at the library tomorrow. She didn't say how many books they are getting, but she's on the hook for getting them all registered in the database. Their line might not be quite this big.


With all the kiddos hyped up on caffeine and adrenaline circulating through the stacks, Borders will have a lot of cleaning up to do tomorrow, but at least some of the staff - notably the ones in suits with earphones, like "it's Pat" in the middle here - were having the time of their lives.


And I'm sure they had fun contriving all the decorations.


Part of the time I spent in line I did what I do best and talked to strangers. While there was a dearth of 35 year old datable men, it was really fun listening to the young'ns talk about their hopes and dreams for this book and bemoan the fact that it appeared to be ONLY about 700 pages long judging the stacks from afar.


To entertain the masses there were various activities including a trivia quiz and a costume contest. Lots of adult ladies went in full witch wear, and several were nice enough to answer questions and direct traffic despite just being customers. There were some awfully cute costumes. There was a plethora of Harrys and Hermiones. Some skimpier outfits for specific houses were in evidence. One shy little girl dressed as Pigwidgeon. The tall boy dressed as Snape won, probably because he played the character on stage. His exuberance and ability to lead his crowd of friends (some of whom pretended they didn't *really* want to be there) reminded me a lot of a young version of a college boyfriend, even more so after I talked to him in the cafe line and found out his major expectation for this book is for Ron and Hermione to hook up. It made me feel a smidge less sick and wrong for hoping for just that thing too.


I almost escaped the store without anything but the Potter and free poster, but as I passed the sale table I found my box was still there. Not just any box, but a box that goes delightfully with the cover of The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes, which is now my computer background because it's lovely. When I found it the other day, I decided not to get it but kept wanting it and decided that if one was still there on my next visit, I would get it. And here it is, my new cute box with pointy flowers and mariposas (butterflies).

It's pink inside too. I used to hate pink but it's really grown on me recently and pretty soon dogs and cats will be living together. But it was a nice end to my evening of Magic and Witchcraft.

Tomorrow I plan to read by the pool until I fry or turn into a giant freckle. I want to get through the book before the spoilers hit the ether. [warning! speculation follows] I want to be surprised if Harry (a) dies, (b) dies but gets brought back to life (c) winds up back in the cupboard under the stairs or my favorite (d) lives Happily Ever After, preferably with the doting Ginny somewhere in the scene.